


growing pains

by malfoysire



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Gay Jughead Jones, Jarchie - Freeform, Jughead Jones is Not Asexual, M/M, One Shot, almost enemies to friends to lovers, i dont know how football works, mainly non-canon, minor smut, this is my first fic im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 13:29:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17663561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malfoysire/pseuds/malfoysire
Summary: jughead and archie had to fall apart to finally come together.





	growing pains

there was a time when knobby knees brushed together in the confined space of an old wooden treehouse, where the grass sprang to life with the illumination of fireflies. crooked teeth flashed playful smiles, and jughead’s only worries consisted of video games and, _what time is archie coming over?_ nowadays, he had no such luxury. before they knew it, their favorite shoes became four sizes too small and their heads grazed the ceiling of the little nook they once held sacred. their bodies ached and changed, and fred andrews called it growing pains. if only life was still that simple. 

jughead jones sat in the corner booth at pop’s diner, executing his pathetic ability to remain completely invisible to the rest of the riverdale high population. cheryl blossom was chatting adamantly to some nameless rivervixens, undoubtedly formulating another scheme to ruin some poor student’s life. jughead just continued staring at his laptop keys, begging his mind to fill in the blank document that rested before him. he used to write so hard his fingers would ache, and his thoughts would stream out of him onto the page like a symphony begging to be sung. except now jughead was too preoccupied with the frivolous details of his own sad life to be worried about silly stories he made up in his head. 

the bell chimed, and jughead watched as archie andrews strode into the restaurant, throwing his head back in laughter, arm slung over reggie’s shoulders. donning the infamous letterman jacket, that practically screamed, _of course i’m better than you, i’m on the football team._ jughead waited for archie to ditch his friends and swoop in to save him from his own bitter loneliness. instead, the redhead looked right at him, frowned, and slid right next to the gaggle of girls occupying the table across from him. perhaps, if he tried hard enough, the floor would swallow him whole. 

“andrews, i think you have a stalker.” reggie teased, eyebrows cocked pointedly at jughead. he stared down at his hands but could feel everyone’s gaze burning into his skull. the girl’s batted each other’s arms and giggled as if to say, _don’t look, don’t look!_ jughead was used to being the circus freak, but he expected more from his best friend. “hey, knock it off, he’s harmless. besides, did you hear about whose trying out this year?” archie asked, purposely diverting the topic. reggie settled back into his seat and they began gossiping about the possible new linebacker. jughead hated himself for the brief moment he was grateful. archie sneakily shrugged his shoulders and shot jughead a half smile, as if that was some form of an acceptable apology. 

jughead was fuming. he wanted to scream, wanted to throw a plate against the window and shatter the glass, to cause a scene. archie was officially too cool for him. all those years of friendship wasted on a stupid social ladder. reminding jughead he was, and always would be, nothing but southside trash. just another person to step on in archie’s climb to the top. instead of losing his mind, however, he simply picked up his laptop and made his way to the exit. “don’t let the door hit you on the way out, beetlejuice.” reggie snorted at him. jughead expected nothing of archie, and that’s exactly what he got. jughead balled his hand into a fist, squeezing until his knuckles turned white. bowing his head, he simply left, leaving behind whatever remnants of a life he once had. 

 

1:24 AM

FROM: ARCHIE

u up?

(read: 1:25 AM)

 

1:27 AM

FROM: ARCHIE

look man i’m sorry. can we please talk?

 

1:30 AM

TO: ARCHIE

never again.

 

1:31 AM

FROM: ARCHIE

i’ll order pizza, on me

 

1:40 AM

TO: ARCHIE

fine. you broke me. but you owe me. usual spot?

 

 

1:42 AM

FROM: ARCHIE

of course.

 

and that was house how the two boys ended up sitting criss cross, legs crammed against each other, eating pizza in the middle of the night. archie was beaming, his body practically buzzing in excitement, though he’d never admit it. the treehouse was unusually warm, and archie was the first to break the silence. “thanks…for coming. i know i’ve been a dick lately.” he played with his fingers before tentatively peering up at jughead, gauging his reaction. “yea, a huge one.” the brunette replied between mouthfuls of cheese, despite having a slight smirk on his face. archie’s heart swelled and he couldn’t stop smiling, even though he was supposed to be serious. “listen, things have just been weird lately. i’m not used to hanging out with anyone but you and betty, and even she is trying out for the cheerleading squad. i don’t really know how i’m supposed to act yet.” 

now jughead was the one twiddling his thumbs. archie was usually pretty oblivious, but he still didn’t like being treated as an afterthought. once he knew how to act, was he just going to drop him? “i get that you’re mr. popular now, but we’re supposed to be friends. and most of the time you don’t bother coming to my defense. it kind of stings knowing you care more about your reputation than about me.” jughead could barely get a word out before archie was rushing to speak, grabbing for jughead’s hands. “i don’t care about anything more than you.” the words tumbled out of archie’s mouth before they could even reach his head. jughead was taken aback and stared at him, slack-jawed. archie averted his gaze, blushing. he didn’t mean for it to come out like that, but it was the truth.

“you know you’re like…” archie searched for the right thing to say, “you’re like a brother to me, jug.” he wondered why it felt like a lie. jughead smiled knowingly. late night conversations, being distracted from parent troubles, playing games until the sun came out. maybe things weren’t so different after all. and maybe, just maybe, they could go back to the way things were.

 

A WEEK LATER

 

jughead woke with a start at the crashing of dishes scrambling for his sheets. for a moment he had forgotten he still lived in a run-down trailer with a deadbeat dad on the wrong side of town. he sighed and laid back, counting the tiles on the ceiling, trying his best to drown out his father’s mindless drunken rants. all he could think of was a certain ginger. _archie, archie, archie,_ played in his mind like a broken record. it had always felt like jughead’s life revolved around him. he desperately wanted to see him again, but archie had been busy “writing music.” he was smart enough to know that was code for hanging out with reggie and his friends. so when he we went days without hearing from him, after the first text he got, he somehow found himself a party.

jughead hated parties. in fact, he _loathed_ them. only his best friend could somehow drag him into a mess this colossal. it was painfully awkward. maybe not for everyone else, but jughead stuck out like a sore thumb and had absolutely no one to make stupid small talk with until his eventual departure. but archie had said “please, it’ll be so fun,” and then pleadingly, “i miss you.” and with that, jughead caved. people were dancing, and red cups sloshed drinks onto the floor everywhere you turned. archie was nowhere in sight, but after an eternity later, jughead sighed in relief upon spotting a familiar blonde ponytail. “betty!” he called out, desperately hoping she’d hear. thankfully, she whipped around happily and shone in all her perfect glory. “juggie!” she exclaimed joyfully, “you’re the last person i expected to be here.” he gave her a bashful smile and tried to explain. “you know archie…always getting me wrapped up in crazy things.” betty didn’t seem to listen before she was dragging him into another room, for “shots.” jughead jones did not do shots. 

the pair of them walked into the kitchen and were met with the sight of veronica lodge hugging archie’s frame. jughead didn’t know why there was a twist in his gut. “sorry, are we interrupting something?” he managed to say, not knowing what to make of the scene in front of him. he knew this party was a stupid idea. yet for some reason beyond him, he came anyway. it all seemed like a mistake now but he didn’t know why. “no, of course not.” archie answered, pulling away. they both seemed caught off guard. veronica looked distraught. jughead reached for a shot glass, and drank his vodka straight.

not even twenty minutes later, the room was almost spinning. jughead’s thoughts were lighter. betty looked even prettier. maybe this was why people partied. it felt like a break. he didn’t know when they started sitting on a couch. he could’ve sworn they were standing in the hallway a minute ago. his arm draped over betty, and twirled her hair. it was nice to have someone so close, he decided. it was comforting. cheryl, somehow acting sober even though she was flat out wasted, shushed everyone to make an announcement. archie stumbled into the room at the same time, hand snaked around veronica’s waist. jughead’s faced burned. it wasn’t like him. it’s not like jughead liked veronica, he barely knew her. or did he? his stream of thoughts were interrupted by cheryl once again. “we will be playing spin the bottle, seven minutes in heaven version. what happens in the closet, stays in the closet. but remember, we’ll all be listening.” 

people were not listening. three pairings in, everyone just kept chatting like usual, occasionally leaving the room when the bottle landed on them. betty could not stop chattering about some girl-talk nonsense before it was jughead’s turn. this was his worst nightmare. he managed to go through the night, seemingly undetected, but now all eyes were on him. some uptight party girl was about to be headed for some major disappointment. except, it came to a halt at betty. jughead almost jumped for joy. he wouldn’t have to make a total embarrassment of himself after all. he practically skipped to the closet, missing the scowl plastered on archie’s face.

a boring conversation and a kiss on the cheek later, jughead made his way out of the closet of doom. he probably looked like he scored, because he had a goofy smile, but it was just the alcohol rushing through his veins. four more couples later, archie grabbed the bottle and spun. he prayed for veronica, but it stopped right at jughead. jughead's eyes widened. “he has to spin again, right?” josie piped up, clearly wishing it was her that he landed on. “calm down kitty cat, rules are rules. now, shoo.” jughead begrudgingly got up, stumbling his way across the room, before he and archie were shoved into the tiny closet. 

“i didn’t kiss her you know.” jughead offered. archie raised an eyebrow. “betty, i mean. i didn’t know if you liked her.” he finished lamely. “oh,” was all archie said. there was a long pause. “so what are we supposed to do for seven minutes? sweat it out?” jughead laughed, and archie joined in. “if you think about it, this might even be bigger than the treehouse.” they both laughed again and jughead gave him a fond smile. he wasn’t sure why he was mad at him in the first place. “ok, how about you tell me a secret. something you’ve never told me before.” archie said, trying to fill in the rest of the time. “i literally don’t think that’s possible. i’m pretty sure you know more things about me than i know about myself.” jughead grinned. archie didn’t deny it. “i’ll start then. your breath smells like svedka.” archie teased. “and yours smells like beer.” he retorted. funnily enough, he didn't feel drunk anymore. his body was just humming. jughead stared at archie, taking him in. his long eyelashes casting shadows on his cheeks, his sharp jawline, the way his mouth seemed permanently upturned. the room grew even smaller. 

“your music.” jughead said quietly. “huh?” now jughead really was embarrassed. he felt his cheeks turn pink. “i love your stupid music. i love hearing you sing.” archie was, well, startled. he looked at jughead as if he had hung the stars upon hearing the compliment. “are you kidding me? you teased me about it for years! you’re such a liar!” he practically giggled, punching jughead in the arm. “ok, fine. i take it back. you're music is terrible and i hate-“ and then archie was kissing him. actually kissing him. suddenly jughead wasn’t sure if he was dreaming, too shocked to kiss back. archie pulled away, his eyebrows scrunched together in regret and want. jughead didn’t know how he felt. he didn’t. but this was right. this was how it was supposed to be. 

jughead pulled archie down and rejoined their lips, this time pressing against him. it was gentle at first, but archie groaned in response, and swiped his tongue across his bottom lip and gently nibbled at it. jughead practically melted before archie reached down and pushed jughead up so his legs were wrapped around him. jughead’s mind was racing a million miles a minute. he was making out with his best friend, and straddling him while he stood up and shoved him against a wall. everything was escalating so fast. archie started sucking on jughead’s neck, leaving jughead a whimpering mess. he knew he wouldn’t do this sober, but he didn’t care. jughead was hard, and now so was archie. “god, jug.” he whined into his mouth. their groins rubbed against each other, and jughead was sure he’d pass out, or cum in his pants, and he wasn’t sure which was worse. then suddenly a the sound of the timer rang out, and both boys forgot they weren’t alone.

pulling apart quickly, jughead tried his best to hide his boner, before running from the enclosed room and out the door, into the night. he didn’t bother looking behind him, and didn’t stop until he was home. he slammed the door shut behind him, and thankfully, fp was nowhere to be found. he unzipped his jeans incredibly fast and started to touch himself to the thought of archie’s mouth on his, and came within seconds. when jughead was finished, a mixture of guilt and shame rose up in this throat. _oh god. i ruined our friendship forever,_ was his last thought before drifting off into sleep.

 

TWO WEEKS LATER

it had been radio silence from jughead. archie would call him, text him, knock on his door, but the southsider seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. it wasn’t long before archie realized he had screwed up. jughead was drunk out of his mind and didn’t feel the same way. he was just looking for another warm body and didn’t think of the repercussions, archie concluded. and now he was never going to see him again. he prayed that no one had noticed at the party that night. sure, his lips were swollen and jughead darted so fast he gave sonic a run for his money, but hopefully they thought the two friends had just gotten into a fight. no one would think riverdale’s golden boy, archie andrews, was anything but straight.

-

jughead jones was gay. like, painfully gay. and head over heels for archie fucking andrews. this all seemed like a bad dream. just the other day, jughead could of sworn he was thinking of betty’s…outfit? her hair? god, who was he kidding. it had been archie all along. it had just taken this kiss, if you could even call it that, for him to realize it. and so, jughead had been avoiding archie like the plague. how the hell was he supposed to act around archie now? archie would probably let him down easy, admit that he was dared by cheryl or something. jughead put his head in his hands. he should have never gone to that party. alcohol and repressed feelings just didn’t go together.

TO: JUGGIE  
(11 unread messages)

archie stared at his phone. still no reply. he might not even talk to him the rest of the summer. he was surrounded by reggie, chuck, and a few other teammates when they all went out for milkshakes. they were thinking of riling up the opposing school’s football players so they knew not to mess with them during the school year. “and then we’d totally egg their cars and pop their tires. seriously, they won’t know what hit them.” reggie droned on as they stood at the register, and the ginger had become a master at pretending to listen. someone had bumped into him, and he quickly turned around, and came face to face with none other than jughead jones. archie’s smoothie shattered on the ground. the world went still. everything was silent. they both stood completely speechless, gaping at each other. reggie was the first to talk. “hey, creep. you better pick that shit up. don’t worry, if the glass cuts you it won't hurt anymore then when you cut yourself.”

everyone started to laugh.

jughead was about to cry.

archie broke reggie’s nose.

“i cant believe you did that. it looked like a scene from a movie. i think he even called for his mommy.” they were sitting side by side on archie’s bedroom floor, recounting the earlier events. archie couldn’t help what happened. it happened in a blur, archie’s fist colliding with reggie’s face, a deafening crack, and reggie cowering on the floor. archie wasn’t a violent person. everyone knew that. but there was a line, and it had been crossed. and somehow, it had earned him his best friend back. archie just sheepishly smiled at him. he knew they should talk about “it.” but neither of them were willing to bring it up. so instead they just played video games and joked around like nothing had happened.

at midnight, jughead made a decision. he knew it could be detrimental to everything they had built, but it had been weeks and he couldn’t avoid it any longer. mustering up every ounce of courage he had, jughead began the talk. “archie…we need to..” he muttered slowly, forcing himself to not look down. waiting for the inevitable _get out of my house, i never want to see you again,_ archie answered in an instant. “i know.” he sighed. jughead didn’t know what that meant. his hands were literally trembling. “i’m scared. i’m scared because no matter what either of us say i still don’t want to lose you.” jughead admitted weakly. making eye contact was the hardest thing he’d ever done. even the curtains seemed more inviting. the tension in the room was palpable and jughead had to remind himself to breathe.

”you’re never going to lose me, jug, so don’t even go there. i don’t care if you don’t have feelings for me, just being your friend is enough if that’s all you want.” archie said slowly, looking dejected. the confession hit jughead like a ton of bricks. this was not what he had been expecting. he had been preparing himself for utter rejection, and humiliation, anything but this. he didn’t know what to say, even though a thousand things immediately rushed to his mind. “you’re not joking?” jughead asked, wishing he could take it back the second he said it because he knew it came out wrong. archie's face fell at that, as if his whole world had just come crashing down. he shook his head in what seemed like shame. “shit, archie, i didn’t mean it like that. god, of course i like you. even saying this to you seems insane to me. but i’m crazy about you andrews.” jughead rushed to mend things, not even believing he had finally said it. “wait, so you do like me?” archie inquired, seeming very insecure all of a sudden. jughead had never seen him so vulnerable. “i mean, i practically fucked you in someone else’s closet. so i think we’re past that point.” jughead chuckled, bumping shoulders with archie. _yep, this was definitely right._ archie glowed, and the two boys leaned in.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this is rubbish. This is my first fanfic haha :) Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.


End file.
